True. It was also intentional whereas an IRL stockton-rush is more likely to kill you through incompetence or underestimating the challenges. (A lot of people die on Mt. Everest just from the elements and preparation miscalculations.) Though if you die because you hired the Joker, that might be incompetence on your own behalf.

My take on The Menu is that the Hawthorne exploded due to compound stress of its staff. While this is accurate representation of the restaurant industry as a whole (in the US at least), their austere lifestyle may have accelerated the process.